Sony recently revealed a brand new survival-horror game called Abandoned that's set to launch exclusively for the PlayStation 5 later this year. Developed by Blue Box Game Studios, Abandoned is a photo-realistic game where player character Jason has to do whatever he can to make it out of the woods alive. Shortly after its reveal, rumors started swirling that the game was actually a secret Hideo Kojima project, but those rumors have since been debunked.
While Abandoned is not a Hideo Kojima game, fans of Kojima's work may still have something to look forward to soon. According to industry insider Jeff Grubb, Kojima is in talks with Xbox for the company to publish Kojima Productions' next game. This would be a huge deal, as Kojima Productions is primarily known for developing games for PlayStation, as was the case with the console exclusive Death Stranding in 2019.
Grubb clarified that he does not know if the deal between Kojima and Xbox is complete, but that if it does come to fruition, it will be a key part of Xbox's strategy to leverage Japanese developers. Grubb also pointed out that Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has teased a Kojima Productions collaboration in the past, and so while it's possible that the deal won't be finalized, chances seem good that the next Kojima Productions game will indeed be published by Xbox.
As for what the next Kojima Productions game is, that remains to be seen. Hideo Kojima himself has teased that his next game will be a horror game, though what form that will take is unclear at the time of this writing. Many would assume that Kojima Productions would look to create a game that realizes the vision for the canceled Silent Hills project, but Kojima could always go in a completely different direction entirely. With how popular PT has been, any Kojima Productions horror game would be something to watch, however.
Luckily, fans may not have to wait too much longer to see the next Kojima Productions game for themselves. Even though Death Stranding just came out a couple of years ago, Kojima Productions art director Yoji Shinkawa has said that the studio's next game will be revealed "quite soon." Xbox is rumored to be hosting a special event later this month, so maybe the game will be there, but there's a likelier reveal date on the horizon.
Microsoft will be at E3 2021, and it is expected to have a major showcase that highlights various games in development for Xbox consoles. This will likely include world premiere trailers and big reveals, and nothing would get the gaming world buzzing than the announcement that the next Kojima Productions game is an Xbox console exclusive coming to Game Pass on day one. But until the official announcement is made, fans should keep their expectations in check.